Difficult Discussions
by Rotblume
Summary: The typical talks in a relationship between human and Wraith.
1. About friends

_**Hi!**_  
 _ **For one thing, I am not a native English speaker and would appreciate any constructive criticism.  
For another thing, the ideas came up at night when I was musing about what Todd and John could talk about in a relationship like the one I want them to be in, so yes, they are lovers.  
Enjoy yourself!**_

With his hands on his hips Sheppard turned to scowl at his partner and groaned sullenly, "Todd, just look what you've done!"  
He didn't appear as unapproachable as he wanted to, only clothed in a pair of sweatpants, but was it too much to ask that the Wraith stopped that smug grinning? It was his fault and his alone that he was in this predicament.

"Have you any idea how hot it'll be today? I can hardly go out wearing a turtleneck." He had thought about it when he had admired Todd's work in the mirror. He wouldn't even be able to cover it up with makeup.  
Stepping up to the wet Wraith, that had just moments ago left the shower and joined him in the main room, Sheppard poked his index finger into the bare chest of his partner, "This is nothing to be proud of."

Todd's expression suddenly changed into a frown, "I am proud of you as my mate, but I am not allowed to show it in public. Now you want me to stop showing it in private, too?"  
Sheppard sighed and searched his partner's eyes, "I am yours and you should already know that. But, honestly, this looks more like a shark bite rather than a normal hickey and how am I supposed to explain that to anyone?"

Chuckling, Todd raised a hand and gently stroked his thumb over his cheek, "Instead of explaining we could simply demonstrate how it happened", the Wraith bend forward, his tongue darting out and teasing the wounded skin around the bite marks on his neck and shoulder.  
"Unless, of course, you really don't want anyone to know", now his partner gave him a little peck on the cheek, "Then I would strongly suggest staying here out of sight of everyone else, until the mark has healed, and spending time with me while hoping that I don't want to taste you again."

He nestled up to Todd, hiding his face in the Wraith's shoulder, but hissed, "You're incredible, you know." The Wraith's deep laughter made his body rumble as he bowed his head, "I know, Sheppard." Like that they stood there for what seemed to be an eternity, until suddenly the door slid open, revealing the athosian leader, "John, are you –"  
While she stopped midsentence and midstride, he quickly pulled away from the previously reassuring embrace and madly searched for words to justify what she had seen. He found none, "Teyla, please, it – "

His team member and friend stared from him to Todd with wide eyes. She took in the unfamiliar picture of a familiar Wraith, with nothing more than a towel around his hips, before she blushed ever so slightly and glanced back at Sheppard. Her gaze hardened and he expected everything except what she really said, "What happened to you?"  
He blinked confused before he looked questioningly at his partner, who had stayed eerily impassive since Teyla's appearance. If he found out that the Wraith had sensed her approaching and not told him, he would made him pay. With a broad grin, that showed his teeth, Todd answered for him dryly, "I was hungry, so I chose to take a bite."

Thinking about it that way, it sounded almost insane and he felt his skin crawl as he touched his neck, "Teyla, he –" "John", she interrupted him quietly and shook her head, "are you happy?"  
He would have said yes out of habit, but something in the Athosian's voice told him to think. So he thought about all the times he had wanted to see the Wraith suffer, even or especially the one next to him. And he thought about their first encounter when he had met a totally different Wraith, who had had no hope, but gave him exactly that. Sheppard thought about how this Wraith became his Wraith. But he also thought about his friends, that had always been at his side, no matter what.

He took a deep breath, "I wouldn't be any more if I lost you about this. Any of you." Sheppard avoided Teyla's eyes until she cleared her throat. Preparing for the worst, he was surprised to see her smile gently, "As long as he doesn't hurt you, it is no concern of mine who you share your life with."  
His team member turned and narrowed her eyes on his partner, who on his part nodded curtly. She left without another word and he let out a breath he hadn't known he had held.

"You knew she was coming, didn't you?" He asked tiredly, but not exactly angry. Todd tilted his head, "I told you that your people respect you too much as to condemn you. They trust you, John Sheppard. Your friends know as well as I do that you would never betray them."  
"Yes, so you've said", moaning, he let himself fall face first into the far too soft mattress of the bed. He would have to do something about that if he was going to stay here now and then. Sheppard just needed to make up a good excuse because it may seem suspicious if he demanded another mattress for the Wraith who barely slept anyways.

Thinking about strange things, he ended up going over the latest confrontation with the athosian woman in his team. Teyla had obviously searched for him and it really shouldn't surprise Sheppard that she had come down here this quickly. After all, when Todd was visiting Atlantis, he was the only one who voluntarily spend his time with the Wraith and that had to attract attention.  
His partner had once mentioned in front of the others that he was the tastiest human he had ever met and they all seemed to worry about that statement more than he did. He was so in for it.

His musings were interrupted by swift fingers gliding through his unruly hair and he leaned into the touch, albeit grudgingly. Twisting his neck slightly, Sheppard looked up at Todd, who was fully clothed by now and sat next to him.  
Scrutinizing the complicated fastening on the dark shirt and trousers that hid countless tattoo patterns, he really wondered how the Wraith managed to dress without any problems while he had yet to find out how to undress him. He pushed those thought to the back of his mind and instead raised his eyebrows, "Could you at least control yourself during the meeting today?"

"Why should I?" The hand that had ruffled through his hair before, followed down the curve of his spine and he knew his partner deliberately tried to tickle him. Attempting not to squirm, he bit out trough gritted teeth, "There'll be some big shots present and the military doesn't really approve of relationships like ours."  
A clawed finger stopped dead in its tracks and Todd's face darkened. His partner snapped, "You mean you'll be punished because you strengthen the alliance between our races?"

Sheppard actually shrunk as he answered, so as to not become the target of the Wraith's wrath, "It's not exactly that we are from different quarters. Rather, you are considered male", he saw the corners of Todd's lips twitching, "and same sex relationships aren't very popular with my folk."  
Considering the hard expression, Sheppard wasn't surprised about the snarl. It would be a very demanding meeting. But, as always, he would simply try and calm the heated atmosphere when something happened. Until then, he had enough time to enjoy with his partner. Rolling over and moving so that his head lay in the Wraith's lap, he pulled him down for a long and passionate kiss.


	2. About family

"Have you ever thought about having children?" He tried to ask as casually as he could, his eyes never leaving the report he was working on.  
"Sheppard, you may not have noticed yet, but we are from different species and more importantly both males", he heard his mattress squeaking. When he risked a glance over his shoulder, he saw that the Wraith didn't sit cross legged anymore in that meditative position he liked so much but was watching him intently.

Sheppard swallowed hard, this was more difficult than he had thought. He looked back at the papers on his desk, but found that he wouldn't be able to concentrate on them any longer. Turning in his chair, he crossed his arms on top of the back, "Yeah, I know. But do you like children?"  
His partner sneered, "They are afraid of me." He didn't doubt that, though he had to admit he was a little bit disappointed, "So you wouldn't want to help me babysit?"

Todd, who sat against the headboard of his bed, blinked at him oddly until he burst out laughing, "The Athosian wants you to keep an eye on her child?" Embarrassed, Sheppard scratched the back of his neck, "Actually, she offered it as a sort of training for me."  
Todd became quiet again and frowned, "What would you need such a kind of training for?" "Dave wants me to meet my nephew", he answered with ease. It was far better to talk about the family he had than to think about having children on his own someday. In the Pegasus Galaxy anyways.

"Your nephew?" Whether his partner had noticed that he was serious about this or was simply curious, Sheppard couldn't decide. "Yes, the son of my brother." When the Wraith narrowed his eyes at him, however, he suddenly wasn't so sure anymore if it was really better to talk about this.  
"Your brother?" "You know, the other child of my parents", he answered warily. And then it dawned upon him what Todd was thinking about. The Gift of Life aside, he didn't really consider them brothers or at least not in earth standards.

Leaning back, he laughed nervously, "You don't really think I'd let any other Wraith get close to me, do you? Dave and I are relatives by blood, Todd."  
As his partner didn't answer, the silence between them stretched on for so long that Sheppard began to fiddle with the hem of his shirt, trying to hold the Wraith's gaze. After a while Todd stood up and walked over to him and it took all his willpower not to flinch when the Wraith raised his feeding hand and laid it on his chest. The memories of their imprisonment were suddenly clear in his head.

His heart was racing, but he closed his eyes and leant into the touch, he trusted his partner. He could hear the rustle of Todd's clothes, as he kneeled down before him, and not even seconds later did he feel his partner's forehead pressed against his own.  
The Wraith laced their fingers with his free hand, giving a light squeeze, "I'm sorry." "It's okay", he mumbled against Todd's lips. He dug his fist into the Wraith's long hair and drew him closer, grinning, "I'll forgive you when you go through that training with me."

Opening his eyes again, he stared directly into wide yellow ones. If Sheppard didn't know better, he'd say they showed something akin to fear, "You aren't serious about that, are you?"  
His partner growled so he raised an eyebrow, "Well, I haven't seen my brother since his marriage earlier this year and we have begun writing Christmas cards to each other again only after our father's death. But, Todd, because Teyla suggested that my two brothers should meet, I decided to drag you along anyways when I visit my nephew. And we don't want the poor little brat to be afraid of you, now, do we?"

Sighing, the Wraith leaned his head against Sheppard's shoulder, "I hope that's the only reason for all the fuss about children." He chuckled, "Don't you worry. I'll tell you what I told Nancy. I don't think I'd be a good Dad."  
Todd huffed and lied back on the floor, looking frustrated up to him, "And who's that Nancy again?"  
"To make a long story short she's my ex. We divorced because I hadn't had enough time for her. You don't know what a marriage is, do you?" He asked because the explanation didn't seem to help his partner.

Just as expected, Todd shook his head slightly. Sheppard slid off his chair and crawled on top of the Wraith, before he sat down on his lap, "That's good, believe me. If you don't marry, you don't have to go through a divorce afterwards. Though I don't think I could ever let you go."  
He run a finger along his partner's jawline and then bend down and placed a brief kiss on the Wraith's temple. Laying his hands on Todd's chest, he felt the other's tracing up his sides, the answer whispered hoarsely, "That sounds perfectly fine to me. I didn't plan on leaving you any time soon."

He trailed kisses down to his partner's cheek bones and shortly ended up at the corner of his lips where he lingered a moment before he asked cautiously, "So you want to come with me?" "If you insist and this Dave has nothing against it, then, yes, I would like to go with you", Todd kissed him softly, his hands cupping his face.  
When his curiosity won, however, Sheppard broke the kiss, "Since when do you care about what other humans think?" The reptilian eyes softened, glowing lightly, "Since this is obviously very important to you."

He grinned impishly, "And you're not jealous anymore?" The Wraith rolled them around with one swift movement, his hands instantly finding their way under his shirt, "There's no reason to be, is there? You belong to me, John Sheppard."  
Todd tenderly began nibbling at his neck and Sheppard moaned lowly, slinging his arms around his partner's neck, "If everything goes well, you're soon going to be Uncle Todd. We might need a small transformation, though, when it comes to your appearance. Dave has seen Ronon, but he is oblivious to my actual work."

"I won't wear any weird earth clothes!" After he had tugged the shirt over his head, the Wraith attacked his lips, this time more forcefully. Far too soon Sheppard had to part for a break to catch his breath again and snickered, "But why? I'd like to see you in leather and laces."  
The annoyed expression on Todd's face might not have been able to silence him, but the kisses on his body did so eventually. However, it didn't keep him from mumbling, "Or would you like a suit?"


End file.
